How Did I Die?
Einstürzende Neubauten Lyrics

I was in a crater
I found myself in a large hole in the ground

Pockmarked fields on either side
The surrounding fields were covered in small holes or marks

I was meant to be all safe how did I die?
I was supposed to be in a secure situation, so how did I end up dying?

How did I die? Or didn't I?
Did I actually die? If so, how did it happen?

Un sursaut, une crispation mon corps soudain
A sudden shock or tremor ran through my body

Comme voulant s'engloutir dans la terre
As if wanting to sink into the ground

Didn't I die at all?
Is it possible that I didn't die at all?

I fell into a ditch inside an A7V
I tumbled into a trench within a vehicle called A7V

On the end facing mephisto is it's name
At the side where mephisto is located, that's what it's called

Ein schwarzes Biest ein Splitterregen
A black beast, a rain of shards

Über den Bäumen zerspringt und niedergeht
Breaking and falling over the trees

Didn't I die at all?
Is it possible that I didn't die at all?

Now there is only that sinister brown belt
Now all that remains is a menacing, brown-colored strip

A strip of murdered Nature it seems to belong to
A section of Nature that appears to have been cruelly destroyed

Another world every sign of humanity has been swept away
It feels like a different world where any trace of human presence has been completely eradicated

The woods and roads have vanished like chalk wiped from a board
The forests and roadways have disappeared as if they were erased from a chalkboard

Of the villages nothing remains but gray smears
There is nothing left of the villages except dull, indistinct marks

Where stone walls have tumbled together a confused mass of troubled earth
In the area where stone walls have collapsed, there is now a jumbled mess of disturbed soil

Columns of muddy smoke spurt up continually as high explosives tear deeper into this ulcered area
Tall columns of dirty smoke constantly rise as powerful explosives cause further destruction in this injured region

How did I die? I fell from the sky
How did my demise occur? I dropped down from the sky

Or didn't I?
Or maybe I didn't die at all?

I filled my mouth with water
I filled my mouth with liquid

So the bullet could succeed how did I die?
To facilitate the success of the bullet, how did my death happen?

Did I die by my own hand? Or didn't I? How did I die?
Was I responsible for my own death? Or maybe I didn't die after all? How did my demise occur?

Or didn't I die at all?
Is it possible that I didn't die at all?

How did we die? Or didn't we?
In what manner did we perish? Or maybe we didn't die at all?

Didn't we die at all?
Is it possible that none of us actually died?

We didn't die we didn't die
None of us died, we are still alive

We are back with a different song
We have returned with a new piece of music

We didn't die we didn't die
None of us died, we are still alive

We're just singing a different song
We are merely performing a distinct composition

We are back with a change of weather
We have returned with altered atmospheric conditions

Ein anderer Wind, ein neues Lied
A different wind, a new song

We didn't die we didn't die
None of us died, we are still alive

We give you a different song
We present to you a dissimilar composition

Okookookookooskrookookookookoo
Singing a melody with unique sounds

The difference is in the song
The variation lies in the composition itself

– difference makes the song we didn't die
The contrast is what sets our song apart and proves that we are still alive

We didn't die we didn't die
None of us died, we are still alive